Behind Facebook's dodgy video operation

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(Image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images)

Hank Green is what might be called a "vlogopreneur" — someone who's started a successful small business in online video. So naturally, he's annoyed at Facebook's new video operation.

Why? Two reasons: First, Facebook has been clocking eye-popping view counts with the use of autoplaying videos that are heavily favored in the site's feed algorithm. But because of that very method of presentation, Facebook's viewer retention falls off a cliff — after 30 seconds, almost 80 percent of people have stopped watching, far more than on YouTube. So Facebook counts as a view any play lasting more than three seconds. If those views were a currency, they wouldn't be worth very much.

All in all, not a promising start for such a huge internet company.

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Ryan Cooper

Ryan Cooper is a national correspondent at TheWeek.com. His work has appeared in the Washington Monthly, The New Republic, and the Washington Post.